The Defense Ministry is considering creating a new assault unit whose mission is to recapture remote Japanese islands that are vulnerable to foreign invasion, officials said.
The ministry's plan, unveiled during a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, comes in response to repeated intrusions by Chinese vessels into waters near the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the officials said.
The ministry expects the formation of the new unit to be included in the defense program outline, after assessing that existing forces are insufficient to protect remote islands, the officials said.